Completion and Dedication of the Temple
Ezra 6:13-18
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Ezr.6.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אדין: ADV
- תתני: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- פחת: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נהרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שתר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בוזני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- וכנותהון: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,pl
- לקבל: VERB,qal,inf
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דריוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כנמא: PART
- אספרנא: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,pl
- עבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezra 6:8 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same royal order — Darius commands that the builders have support (timber, money) from the royal treasury; repeats/continues the administrative instructions that authorize the work.
- Ezra 1:1-4 (quotation): Earlier imperial decree (Cyrus) authorizing the exiles to return and rebuild the house of God and providing support — precedent and parallel for a Persian king's formal permission and provisioning for the temple project.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 (quotation): Chronicles preserves a near‑verbatim record of Cyrus’s decree permitting the return and rebuilding of the temple, paralleling Ezra’s account of imperial authorization and support.
- Nehemiah 2:7-8 (thematic): Artaxerxes’ grant of letters and provision of timber for timber supply to the builders echoes the theme of Persian royal endorsement and logistical support for Jewish building projects.
- Haggai 2:20-23 (allusion): Prophetic word to Zerubbabel during the reign of Darius promising God’s backing for the restored temple and elevating Zerubbabel’s role — thematically linked to the divine/royal authorization that makes the rebuilding possible.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then Tatnai, the governor on this side of the river, Shethar‑bozenai, and their companions who were beyond the river wrote a letter and sent it to King Darius; this is the copy that they sent.
- Then Tatnai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar‑bozenai and their associates — the governors beyond the River — did according to the decree that King Darius had sent.
Ezr.6.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושבי: CONJ+VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- יהודיא: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בנין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומצלחין: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בנבואת: NOUN,f,sg,cstr
- חגי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נביא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וזכריה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בר: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עדוא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- ושכללו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מן: PREP
- טעם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומטעם: NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- כורש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ודריוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וארתחששתא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- פרס: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezra 5:1-2 (quotation): Same episode: Haggai and Zechariah prophesied and encouraged the elders to resume rebuilding the temple; directly names the prophets who spurred the work (verbal and narrative continuity).
- Ezra 1:1-4 (verbal): Records Cyrus’s decree permitting the return and the rebuilding of the temple — the Persian royal authorization that Ezra 6:14 cites as part of the foundation for completion.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 (verbal): Parallel account of Cyrus’s decree allowing the exiles to return and rebuild the temple; Chronicles echoes the same royal sanction found in Ezra.
- Haggai 2:10-23 (thematic): Haggai’s prophecies promise divine blessing and completion for the second temple and encourage the builders (including references to Zerubbabel), matching Ezra’s attribution of success to Haggai’s prophetic ministry.
- Zechariah 4:6-10 (thematic): Zechariah’s oracle to Zerubbabel — 'not by might but by spirit' and the call to take courage — thematically parallels the prophetic encouragement and assurance credited in Ezra for enabling the rebuilding and its prosperity.
Alternative generated candidates
- But the Jews who were in their towns built and prospered through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo, and by the favor of the God of Israel and by the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.
- And the returned of the Jews built and prospered by the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo; and they completed it by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.
Ezr.6.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושיציא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ביתה: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3,f,sg
- דנה: DEM,f,sg
- עד: PREP
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תלתה: NUM,ord,f,sg
- לירח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- שנת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- שת: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- למלכות: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- דריוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלכא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezra 6:14 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same chapter: verse 14 describes the builders, the prophetic encouragement (Haggai/Zechariah) and setting the house on its foundation; verse 15 completes that narrative with the dating of completion.
- 1 Esdras 7:42 (quotation): Septuagint/1 Esdras parallel that recounts the same event and gives the same completion date for the rebuilt temple (LXX witness to Ezra 6:15).
- 1 Kings 6:38 (structural): Chronological parallel in the account of Solomon's temple: both verses give precise month/day/year statements marking the completion of a temple, showing a similar literary convention for dating sacred construction.
- Haggai 2:20-23 (thematic): Prophetic material that frames the rebuilding project—Haggai promises God's action and gives significance to Zerubbabel's role—providing theological context for the completion recorded in Ezra 6:15.
- Ezra 1:1-4 (thematic): Background legal/political parallel: Cyrus' decree authorizing the return and reconstruction provides the enabling decree that makes the temple's eventual completion (Ezra 6:15) possible.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the house was finished on the third day of the month Adar; it was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
- And the house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Ezr.6.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כהניא: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ולויא: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ושאר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- גלותא: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חנכת: NOUN,f,sg,construct
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלהא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דנה: DEM,f,sg
- בחדוה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezra 3:11-13 (thematic): Earlier dedication of the temple foundation by priests and Levites with shouts of joy and song—parallels the communal celebration and mixed reaction (joy and weeping) at the house of God.
- 1 Kings 8:63-66 (structural): Solomon's dedication of the first temple involves the king, priests and people offering sacrifices and rejoicing—serves as an archetype for temple dedication rites and communal celebration.
- 2 Chronicles 7:3-6 (thematic): At the completion/dedication of Solomon's temple the people, priests and Levites bow, give thanks, and celebrate with offerings and music—echoes the liturgical and joyful elements in Ezra's dedication.
- Nehemiah 12:27-43 (verbal): Description of the dedication procession for Jerusalem's wall featuring priests and Levites, great rejoicing, sacrifices and thanksgivings—closely parallels the communal and cultic features of Ezra's dedication.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
- And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Ezr.6.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והקרבו: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,pl
- לחנכת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,const
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלהא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דנה: DEM,f,sg
- תורין: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מאה: NUM,f,sg,abs
- דכרין: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מאתין: NUM,f,pl
- אמרין: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ארבע: NUM,card,f
- מאה: NUM,f,sg,abs
- וצפירי: CONJ+NUM,m,pl
- עזין: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לחטאה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תרי: NUM,m,pl
- עשר: NUM,card,m,sg,cons
- למנין: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,const
- שבטי: NOUN,m,pl,con
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 7:10-89 (structural): Twelve tribal princes bring identical dedication offerings to inaugurate the altar—parallels Ezra’s use of offerings tied to the twelve tribes (’twelve male goats’).
- Leviticus 9:1-7 (thematic): Inauguration of the tabernacle/priests with burnt and sin-offerings for the people — parallels temple dedication rites and sin-offerings in Ezra 6:17.
- 1 Kings 8:62-66 (thematic): Dedication of Solomon’s temple with large-scale sacrifices and communal assembly—an earlier pattern of temple dedication analogous to Ezra’s offering list.
- Nehemiah 12:27-43 (thematic): Dedication celebration (of the wall) featuring priests, Levites, singing and sacrificial offerings—parallels the public, ritual dedication and offerings in Ezra 6.
- Ezra 3:6-11 (structural): Earlier stage of the returnees’ cultic restoration: altar sacrifices and public praise at laying the temple foundation—direct narrative parallel within Ezra’s book to the later dedication sacrifices in 6:17.
Alternative generated candidates
- They offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
- And at the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for a sin offering — for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
Ezr.6.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והקימו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כהניא: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בפלגתהון: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,prsfx,3,pl
- ולויא: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- במחלקתהון: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,prsfx,3,pl
- על: PREP
- עבידת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- אלהא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- די: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בירושלם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ככתב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ספר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezra 3:8 (structural): Earlier account in Ezra of setting up the priests and Levites for service at the rebuilt temple — same restoration program and organizational action.
- Nehemiah 12:47 (thematic): Describes provision and organized service of priests and Levites in the restored community, echoing the establishment of divisions and duties for temple service.
- Numbers 3:6-9 (quotation): Direct Mosaic law ordaining the Levites to attend Aaron and serve in the tent of meeting — the Book of Moses passage to which Ezra explicitly appeals.
- Numbers 8:24-26 (allusion): Regulations about Levites' age and service duties; provides the procedural background for appointing Levites to their temple roles, as cited by Ezra.
- 1 Chronicles 24:3-5 (verbal): David’s arrangement of the priests into divisions 'according to the sons of Aaron' (divisions/portions), paralleling Ezra’s language about priests 'in their divisions' for temple service.
Alternative generated candidates
- And they appointed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses for the service of the God of Jerusalem, as is written in the book of Moses.
- And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses, for the service of the God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.
Then Tatnai, governor beyond the River, and Shethar‑boznai and their companions who were by the river made a report to King Darius; and this is the copy of the report they made. And the Jews built and prospered through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They completed the house by the command of the God of Israel and by the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. And the house was finished on the third day of the month Adar; that was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Then the people of Israel—the priests and the Levites and the rest of the returned exiles—kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. And at the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats as sin offerings for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. And they appointed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses for the service of the God of Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.